GOOD MORNING: Remember those who sacrificed for us all

Among the events happening in Michigan, two stood out for me Thursday: Protests in Lansing over Right to Work legislation and a movement to impeach President Obama staged in front of the Ionia Post Office.

Among the events happening in Michigan, two stood out for me Thursday: Protests in Lansing over Right to Work legislation and a movement to impeach President Obama staged in front of the Ionia Post Office.

Regardless of which side you are rooting for, these actions are great reminders of what a wonderful country we live in, where it doesn’t matter what side of the isle you are on, how old you are or what tax bracket you are in - you are afforded the opportunity to express opinions regarding government leaders and legislation.

It’s impossible for me to think about freedom and liberty without acknowledging how it came to be, especially on today, National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

In the wake of the bombings on Dec. 7, 1941, throngs of our citizens signed up and shipped out to fight for what they believed in - our country. Please take some time today to think about the selfless acts of these soldiers and their families, and how, one by one, they created the firm foundation of freedom we still stand on today.

Columnist Jim Moses writes about accurately preserving family histories in his column on Page 3 today and now is a great time to start.

For a classroom assignment years ago, I asked my grandmother what she was doing on the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. Although decades had passed since the bombing, she answered my question like I has asked her what she had done the day before.

Grandma said she was serving a big family dinner that Sunday, and everyone was glued to the radio as news came in. She also recalled being mad because my grandpa and his brother were throwing biscuits at the dinner table, pretending they were bombs as they became embedded in mashed potatoes and splashed in the gravy bowl.

Looking back, I think she was scared rather than mad, scared for her husband, her family and her country. Grandpa’s brother enlisted in the Navy right away. My grandpa, who was much older than his sibling and had a growing family, eventually couldn’t stand the thought of his younger brother fighting without him, so he enlisted in the Navy as well.

Be sure to share your family stories with younger generations - they just might be listening.

Here are some tidbits from our archives:

100 YEARS AGO

• A meeting to save the fairgrounds is set for Dec. 7, 1912, and half of the money needed to meet obligations for the fair for the previous four years had been raised.

• The Hayes-Ionia Factory has a $20,000 payroll for the month “where big business is being carried on.” Three hundred men are turning out 50 to 60 automobile bodies a day.

Page 2 of 2 - 25 YEARS AGO

• The church walk/sing drew a crowd of nearly 250 people and the event had mild weather.

• Ionia retailers are readying for a four-hour, open house celebration in downtown Ionia.

Lori Kilchermann is general manager of the Ionia Sentinel-Standard and regional editor for GateHouse Media’s family of Michigan newspapers. Have a question, comment or story idea? Email her at lori.kilchermann@sentinel-standard.com or call 616-527-2100.